Nigeria to sign Africa free trade agreement at AU summit – presidency

Nigeria will sign an Africa free trade agreement at the coming African Union summit, which will take place in Niamey, Niger next Sunday, the Nigerian presidency said in a Twitter feed on Tuesday.

Nigeria, the largest economy on the continent, was one of the last countries that had not committed to signing the agreement and its decision to join the bloc will significantly bolster its clout.

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) aims to remove tariffs and generate employment opportunities for a rapidly growing young workforce between member states. It could also enhance intra-African trade by 52.3 percent annually, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

The AfCFTA will cover a market of 1.2 billion people with a combined GDP of more than $2.2 trillion, making it the world’s largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization seven decades ago. It is expected to favour small and medium-size businesses, which are responsible for more than 80 percent of Africa’s employment and 50 percent of its GDP.

Apart from Nigeria, only Eritrea and Benin have chosen not to join the agreement. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari had expressed concern it could allow neighbouring countries to inundate his country with low-priced goods, and confound efforts to encourage moribund local manufacturing and expand farming.

But a panel set up to assess the impact of joining the bloc recommended last week the president “should consider joining.”

“Our position is very simple, we support free trade as long as it is fair and conducted on an equitable basis,” the Twitter feed quoted Buhari as saying.

The upcoming African Union summit will take place next Sunday in Niamey, Niger. The agreement with the other signatories came into force on May 30.